OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Five-time winner Big Package returned to the stable of trainer David Donk at Belmont earlier this month with sights set on a return to racing action in April.
Owned by Donk in partnership with Sean Carney, the New York-bred son of Big Brown spent some down time at Dr. Patty Hogan’s Hogan Equine in New Jersey following a prosperous 4-year-old campaign.
“He came back last week. He’s back in training and we’ll gear him up,” Donk said. “Hopefully, there’s something in the condition book in April. He had a couple months off and it’ll take a couple of months to get him ready, then we’ll be ready to roll.”
Last season, Big Package found the winner’s circle three times, including twice against open company. Two starts after a victory as the lukewarm favorite in a 5 1/2 furlong allowance win over the Mellon turf in August at Saratoga, Big Package stretched out to seven furlongs to win at 11-1 odds over the Belmont Widener turf in November. He was last seen finishing sixth in his turf stakes debut in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in November.
“He had a really good campaign last year, so the waters will get a little deeper,” Donk said. “We’ll test him and see how good he is. He’s run some good open races. He won a two-other-than last time. He has a big turn of foot, so it’ll be fun to see how he progresses.”
NYRA Press Release
Photo: Piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Big Package scores his third win in an AOC at Belmont Park on May 16, 2021. (NYRA/Coglianese)
